General Discussions

Happy Tuesday, all!

Sharing this widely! My lovely colleagues Christine Micallef noticed that PPD students are included in the Periods of Study Plus One Policy now (we call it years plus one, because less words) under the new manual.

I had a question to MCU on whether the exemption was contigent on having a continued PPD, or if the exemption ceases once the student no longer attests to having it. Short answer is that years plus one is a LIFETIME policy, so once a student is opted into it, it stays as such for their lifetime loan, even if they no longer attest to still having the PPD. If you are interested in the long version...Copy and pasting what I asked MCU, and their response. Here's what I asked:

"My team and I are going back and forth on the inclusion of PPD into the Periods of Study Plus One Policy. I figured I'd bring this to your attention for clarification.

We are grateful that PPD students are included in this policy. Our contention surrounds the time for which they are eligible. 

On the one hand, some folks argue that once a PPD student is eligible for this policy, they are eligible for life. This is regardless of whether or not they continue to attest to having the PPD or not. For example, if I break my leg today, and my recovery is only two years, the two year timeline doesn't matter - I will continue to be eligible for this policy even after my PPD is "healed."

On the other hand, some folks argue that a PPD student is eligible for this policy only for the duration in which the PPD is confirmed on file. If I use the same example above, this would mean my eligibility is contingent on my confirmed PPD status with OSAP. Once I am "healed," I no longer qualify for this policy. If this is the case, and say I am already in my sixth year of a four year program, but my broken leg has healed in my sixth year, would this mean that the sixth year is, in fact, my final years of study under academic progress then?

Your response is important, as it will impact how we update things like our Years Plus One policy, and convey messaging to students. We will also share your response with OASFAA, as others have this question too." Here is what Krista, who is sharing what Erin conveyed to her, had to say: "A quick confirmation from Vacation Erin () that for both federal and provincial purposes, a student who has their PPD confirmed for one year, even if they cease to attest to having their PPD in a subsequent year, is considered exempt from the periods of study plus one rule—the periods of study plus one exemption is a lifetime one for a student with a PPD. The only other “lifetime” policy for a student who has their PPD confirmed for one year, even if they cease to attest to having their PPD in a subsequent year, is lifetime limits of 520 weeks.

These two “lifetime” policies for students with PPDs were originally determined by CSFA Program on the basis that even one year of having a verified PPD can have a meaningful effect on a student’s postsecondary studies.

We added info about this matter as well as a chart outlining what policies are lifetime vs annual for students with PPD in the Optional Self-Identification, Disability section of the 2023-24 Full-Time OSAP Policy Manual. In version two of this manual, we’ll spell out the “lifetime” clarifications noted above in the Periods of Study Plus One section and the Lifetime Limits Restriction section. Hopefully, that info will be helpful for OASFAA folks moving forward.

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Hope this is helpful :)